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E-commerce & Retail · head to head

WooCommerce vs Printful

WooCommerce logo

WooCommerce

E-commerce & Retail

The flexible, open-source ecommerce platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Printful logo

Printful

E-commerce & Retail

Print on demand dropshipping service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: WooCommerce the plugin is free but you must supply and pay for WordPress hosting, which WooCommerce itself puts at $25 to $350 per month for most stores; Printful the Growth plan is $24.99 a month and only becomes free once a store reaches $12,000 a year in sales
  • They diverge on capability: WooCommerce covers Product management, Printful covers Print on demand.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which WooCommerce and Printful actually diverge.

Attributes where WooCommerce and Printful differ
AttributeWooCommercePrintful
Pricing modelfreemiumtransaction
Founded20112013

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-commerce & Retail).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in WooCommerce

  • Product management
  • Shopping cart
  • Payment integration
  • Shipping management
  • Tax calculations
  • Customer accounts
  • Order management
  • Inventory tracking

Only in Printful

  • Print on demand
  • Custom products
  • Dropshipping
  • Automated fulfillment
  • Quality control
  • Inventory sync
  • Bulk orders
  • Designer tool

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

WooCommerce

  • Running an online store inside an existing WordPress sitenot Printful
  • Selling physical, digital or subscription products with full control of the codenot Printful
  • Building a customised commerce workflow through plugins and hooksnot Printful

Printful

  • Print on demand fulfilment for apparel and merchandisenot WooCommerce
  • Attaching a fulfilment backend to an existing online storenot WooCommerce

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

WooCommerce

  • The plugin is free but you must supply and pay for WordPress hosting, which WooCommerce itself puts at $25 to $350 per month for most stores
  • Functionality such as subscriptions and bookings comes from paid extensions priced at $29 to $299 per year each, renewed annually
  • Card payments through WooPayments cost roughly 2.50 to 2.90 percent plus 30 cents per transaction
  • Total cost depends on how many extensions a store needs rather than a single published plan price

Printful

  • The Growth plan is $24.99 a month and only becomes free once a store reaches $12,000 a year in sales
  • Product discounts of up to 33% are tied to that paid plan, so the lowest unit costs are unavailable to small sellers
  • The free plan allows one sample order a month, capped at 3 items
  • Shipping and taxes are calculated separately from the quoted product price

Pricing, plan by plan

WooCommerce

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Core ecommerce features
    • Unlimited products
    • Community support
  • Premium$299/year
    • All Free features
    • Premium support
    • Performance optimization

Printful

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited integrations
    • Basic dashboard
    • Order fulfillment

Which should you pick?

Choose WooCommerce if

  • You need product management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want shopping cart.
WooCommerce review

Choose Printful if

  • You need print on demand.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want custom products.
Printful review

Questions people ask

Is WooCommerce or Printful better?
Neither clearly leads. WooCommerce starts at Free and Printful at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, WooCommerce or Printful?
WooCommerce starts at Free and Printful at Free.
Does WooCommerce or Printful run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use WooCommerce for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is WooCommerce best used for?
WooCommerce is most often used for running an online store inside an existing wordpress site, selling physical, digital or subscription products with full control of the code, building a customised commerce workflow through plugins and hooks. Of those, running an online store inside an existing wordpress site and selling physical, digital or subscription products with full control of the code are not what Printful is typically brought in for.
What can WooCommerce do that Printful cannot?
WooCommerce covers Product management, Shopping cart, Payment integration, Shipping management. Printful covers Print on demand, Custom products, Dropshipping, Automated fulfillment.
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